Cambridge,
New York.- Residents in Rensslaer, Washington, Saratoga, and Bennington,
VT. counties may not have to drive hundreds of miles to visit a medical
specailist anymore thanks to grant given to Mary McClellan Hospital
Thursday from the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

During
a conference call to more than 100 journalists across the country
Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced $16 million in
Federal Telecommunications loans and grants to improve education and
health services for 2.5 million rural Americans.The money is part
of the distance learning initiative, a part of the Clinton
Administration's School Modernization program to improve opportunities
for rural children and health care facilities to be successful in a
global economy.

The program brings video access to classrooms,
emergency rooms, and conference areas where doctors and students can
see, guide, and talk with each other.

"Once technical
links are established, these program can do years and years of good."
Glickman said. "This is a window where doctors can actually watch
and guide physicians on what to do in trauma centers and other areas."

Joyce
Davis, executive Director of Mary McClellan Hospital and Suzanne LeRoy,
director of information systems, submitted the grant application to the
USDA in June that addressed the rural nature of the area, wellness
education and the need for a community based coalition to share
resources.

With the grant, videoconference and telemedicine
units will be placed in the main hospital, emergency department and the
Hoosick Falls and Greenwich Family Health Centers.

With this
equipment, patients will be able to talk directly with specialists in
Albany or anywhere doctors have the same technology.

The
equipment also allows Mary McClellan to send MRI's, EKG's, X-rays and
other test results over the network at a high resolution for review.

Not
only is this system more cost effective for medical personnel because it
cuts down on transfers to other hospitals, it also saves patients money
in transportation and future appointments.

"We will be
able to dial Albany Medical Center and that physician can give orders
and we all can make the decision if a patient needs to be transferred,"
Davis said. "The idea is giving patients access and they don't have
to leave Washington County."

In addition to hospital
use, Davis said the unit will also be used for distance learning.

She
said the community partnership laboratory, the main hospital
videoconferencing unit, will allow residents to use the equipment to
attend college classes and conferences and for local business people
people toto attend seminars. LeRoy also said Hoosick Falls Central
School will be able to take advantage of the Internet access in the lab.

Although
this si the first formal grant Mary McClellan has received for
telemedicine, the hospital did go on-line in May with money from the
Adirondack Area Network, Albany Medical Center, and Bell Atlantic.

The
videoconferencing takes place over the Adirondack Area Network- a frame
relay cloud that allows the user to transmit video, voice and data. The
network was developed by David Bonner, the director of technology
initiatives at Russell Sage College in Troy.

Both Davis and
LeRoy said the future of medical technology depends on this project.

"Our
model of care will include the transport of patient information-not
patients," LeRoy said.

Glickman said that more than
380,000 students and 2.1 million patients of clinics and hospitals
serving rural areas will benefit from the new technology under the
distance learning and telemedicine program.